Love at First Sound
by PJ Blindclown
Summary: Full summary inside. Post Sots. David is the boy that no girl's father will aprove of. He's rough, he's angry, and what's more, he's blind.


A/N. Here I am again with yet another fanfic. Out of all the fanfics I've written, this is probably my favourite. Not just because it features Lief and Jasmine as parents, also because it's intended to raze awareness of people with disabilities.

Summary: David is the boy that no girl's Father would approve of. He's rough, he's angry, and what's more, he's blind. How will Lief react when he finds out that David is romancing with his Daughter?

Disclaimer: I don't own Deltora Quest, I don't even own David. But the plot for this story is totally original… I think.

Chapter One: Gentle Joseph

The sun was shining, the birds were singing and the people of Del were going about their business as usual. It had been seventeen years since the destruction of the four sisters, and the evil that had almost turned Deltora into a second version of the Shadowlands. But almost everyone in the land knew what the Shadowlord had done, and many of them had physical and mental scars that would never heal. For example a woman in Del, who was almost blind, would always remember Laughing Jack The travelling moneylender who she believed had helped her through all her troubles. The evil man had tricked her into borrowing more money than she needed, and then signing a paper that said she would pay back twenty times more than she had lent. In the end: she lost everything, and even after all this time, she had only gained a husband and two sons.

But in the library of the palace on the hill, sat a pretty girl who had been born after the Shadow Lords last plan had been undone, and only heard stories of the life and times before then.

But to Young Anna of the forge, life was boring. She almost wished that the shadow lord would conjure up another plan, just to make her life a little more eventful. Little did she know that soon, the Shadow Lord would indeed conjure up a plan that would make both her and her Father come very close to feeling the pain of a lost love.

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Joseph knew that what he was doing was very silly, but how else was he to entertain himself? Ever since he was an infant, he had been locked in the library. But for as long as he could remember, she had been there. Almost every day of her life, her Mother and father would bring her to the library, in the beginning to play with him, and now to study.

As Joseph came closer to her, he wondered how her Father would react when he asked her for her hand in marriage, for he was convinced that Anna was his true love.

Now Joseph could feel himself coming closer … closer … closer!

He was almost touching her. One more step… and they would be tangled in each other.

Joseph was amazed that she had not caught his sent at least. 'We are so close,' he thought. 'Why does she not look up at me or turn her head? Is she in that much of a daydream?'

Joseph pondered this until he finally got enough courage to do what he wanted to do.

He reached out his hand, and …

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David ran his hands up and down the thing he had just been given. Although in the past it had been used to hit him, he considered it beautiful. It was the one thing that he would still own when he was an old man, It would help him to marry, and it meant that now he was now truly one of the blind of Del.

Ever since he was six years old, becoming one of the Blind had been David's dream. But before then, things had been different. Before then, David of Del had been able to see.

As he stroked the thing in his hands, David thought of all the things he used to look at. Trees, Other children, the Palace, sometimes, he even saw rainbows.

David was suddenly brought back to where he was standing with quite an unpleasant thump as he realized that tomorrow, everything would be normal again.

He would play chimes with one of his two friends, his brother would annoy him, he would be jeered at for being so poor and his parents would put him down.

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Anna sat in her usual daydream. It was not long before midday, and Anna was already in a stupor.

Suddenly, she heard a soft voice behind her say, "Anna, are you sure your father gave you that to read?"

With a start, she turned around and saw gentle Joseph standing behind her, smiling at her as usual.

"Of course he did!" Anna said annoyed. The look on Joseph's face told Anna that he was not quite convinced.

"Why do you ask Joseph?" she said.

"Because," Joseph began. "I thought you were not old enough to read the story of your parent's marriage yet."

"I'm studying from 'The Belt of Deltora'!" Anna snapped back at him.

"Oh are you really?" Joseph was now laughing, and Anna was almost sure that if he didn't have the table she was sitting at to support him, he would be on the floor.

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Joseph had almost given up on his foolish joke, what was the point of it? Anna had always hated studying, and now was no exception. 'I could do that to her a million times,' He thought. 'And still, she wouldn't know'. He suddenly saw the humour in what he was doing. If her mother and/or father caught her reading the story of their marriage, she would be in so much trouble. In the beginning, all he had intended to do, was annoy her. But this new idea was far funnier than the last.

"Yes Anna, you are studying from 'The Belt of Deltora', I must have been mistaken I am sorry," Joseph said walking away to nowhere in particular.

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Anna finally decided to look at the book she was reading, because very soon, her father would come and collect her for their usual midday meal before going back home to the forge for the afternoon. There, Anna and her brothers, Jarred and Endon, were free to do almost what they liked. They would often go out into the streets to meat friends, or to the palace gardens, where Zerry (The magician's apprentice) entertained young people from all over Del. It amazed Anna how someone with such a cruel upbringing, could have such a kind heart. But she was almost sure that No one in Del had a kinder heart than Zerry. He accepted anyone into his games, no matter what age or ability, and every child and teenager in Del knew him. Everyone except Gentle Joseph. Anna Jumped as she realised that the volume of 'The Deltora Annals' that held the story of her parents marriage was in front of her indeed. Suddenly, she heard footsteps outside the library. The door opened, and in walked her father.


End file.
